District 41 Set to Vote Soon on $24 Million Referendum for Hadley Addition, School Upgrades

The Glen Ellyn District 41 School Board will meet Wednesday to discuss the language for a referendum question proposed for the 2017 ballot, which would request voter permission to borrow $24 million for a classroom addition at Hadley Junior High and to cover costs to make repairs in elementary schools.

A special meeting is set for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday where board members are expected to discuss the question language for the referendum. The board has until Jan. 17 to vote on whether they will put a referendum requesting the funds on the April 2017 ballot, Suburban Life Publications reports.

School officials are looking at borrowing $24 million to build a two-story addition at Hadley, which is meant to replace portable units at the school; upgrading bathrooms in all District 41 schools to insure they meet standards for students with special needs; complete infrastructure repairs at the district’s five schools; and an addition onto Hadley’s cafeteria to allow 100 more students, according to the Daily Herald.

The school district sent out a survey regarding its facilities and received responses that showed respondents were on board with replacing the portable classrooms at Hadley but did not financially support a proposal to offer all-day kindergarten, according to Suburban Life Publications.

The full survey results can be found here.

If the $24 million tax referendum is approved, the tax bill for the owner of a $373,200 home would actually decrease by $126 each year since the district is set to pay off a current debt in February 2018, according to the Daily Herald. If it is voted down, the tax bill would go down by $248 for that homeowner.

For more on this, visit the Daily Herald or Suburban Life Publications.